Twenty-One

[Quanta]

A tribute to New York’s 21 Club on West 52nd, formerly the speakeasy Jack & Charlie’s Puncheon Club. This is the scent of the perfect martini.

 

Got this as a frimp with my (recent) first order.

In imp: Wow. That smells exactly like a martini.

Wet on skin: Juniper and sweetness. Still just like a martini.

Dry: Amazingly unchanged. Still exactly like a martini...

You know, I kind of like how martinis smell, but I can't really think of a situation in which I would want to smell like one. I think I'll pass this one on to a friend.

Edit (months later): Actually, I really like how this smells layered with Rogue. I'm keeping the imp.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Sugared tonic water

 

Drydown/Dry: Sweet and sparkly. A bit of a lemon-lime soda vibe but with an evergreen undercurrent. Bright, fresh, and a touch herbal. Very similar to Absinthe, but sweeter, stronger, and with less wormwood. Invigorating.

A perfect summer scent!

[SkySamuelle]

This is truly very nice. Both wet and dry, it smells like a combo of martini and champagne - very fresh and pleaseant and definitely perfect in every season.

 

It's a cheerful and vivacious oil, one that leaves you feeling ready and eager to join to a party. Actually, i would say this smells like party slinky cheerfulness. I don't know if I'll be needing a bottle, but I'll be wearing it.

 

Rated: 3,5-4

[Wren12]

Not a morpher on me, true in the bottle, wet and dry.

 

I'm surprised, because I loathe gin, but this is actually amazing. The main scent is strong juniper with just a touch of clear booze heightening and sharpening it. I get an incredibly distinct lime oil scent as well, more pronounced on the skin than in the bottle.

 

This scent is refreshing, clean and bracing. I think it will be wonderful come the dog days of summer. A surprise winner for me!

 

ETA: this lasts forever and has huge throw.

Edited January 20, 2013 by Wren12

[ajansuz]

This was a frimp with a recent order, yet another one of those that fall into the category of, "I'd never have ordered this on my own, but damn is it good!"

 

In the imp it smells pretty much straight up like a martini. Booze notes aren't always nice with my skin chemistry, so it was with caution that I tried this, just a tiny swipe across each wrist.

 

Wet it was pretty magical. Fresh, crisp, clean and effervescent. A clean herbal scent with a hint of juniper and dry lime. A suggestion of gin without screaming GIN.

 

It didn't morph when it dried. On me it stayed a skin scent. There was never much throw. However, whenever I managed to catch a whiff, I felt refreshed and energetic. Like Embalming Fluid, this is a terrific hot weather scent in my opinion. Refreshing without ever overpowering. Slightly sweet without cloying. Best of all, while it is a little boozy, it doesn't amp too high on my skin or make me smell like a sloppy drunk. I'd definitely wear this to a party or for a casual night out when I wanted to smell good without attracting tons of attention for it. Very nice!

[theredkilt]

I get the Martini reference, but the oil has this chemical vibe about; perhaps it's fresh and hadn't settled down.

 

Overall, it's fizzy and bright and i'm trying hard to ignore the funky "nail polish remover" smell.

 

 

[fisharescary]

I sniffed this unaware of what it was supposed to smell like. maybe the problem is that I don't really drink gin martinis. Or gin. Or vodka martinis. But I got a wasabiish slightly sweet smell with maybe a light crystalline skin musk. That was the closest I could come to describing it, which is odd, because I do love juniper, and I would think I could have picked up one something in that family.

[mymymai]

• ITI: Twenty One reminds me of the Lab's Champagne scents. It's bright and bubbly like their champagne notes, but there is a touch of citrus in there along with something lightly but pleasantly herbal.

Wet: Woo, that's bubbly. It reminds me not of a martini in the strictest but of sparkling champagne, juniper berries, and mimosas. It's certainly very festive.

Dry: Yep, it still smells like the Lab's dried champagne note paired with a touch of lemon rind, but I do pick up on the vermouth now that it has had time to settle. It's not so much a straight up martini, but a a sparkling martini, which I could get behind.

[agirlnamedfury]

Wow, they really did succeed in bottling a martini. This smells just like gin. There's a pretty strong citrus note in there too, maybe a twist of lime?

 

This isn't something I would wear every day, but it's fresh and bright and fun for those occasions that you can smell like booze. I don't know that I'll buy a whole bottle, but I'll be keeping the imp.

[petrichorandleather]

An authentic martini with a twist of...grapefruit? Lime? Something pungent and a little bitter.

The overall effect is very zingy, almost makes you want to pucker your lips.

It's not for me, off to swaps!

[Lunasariel]

(Usual disclaimer: I'm the World's Worst Drinker, so I don't have a scent profile of a real martini to compare this to.)

 

In the imp: Erm, not appealing. Sharp and kind of soapy. At least the piney/herbaceous note that is probably juniper is interesting?

 

Wet: Much less soapy. Still sharp and juniper-y, but now in an interesting way. I agree with above posters that there's a fizzy note, but not the way Bon Vivant (can you tell I've been working my way through the Imp Pack: Booze? ) was fizzy, if that makes sense.

 

Dry: A fairly linear drydown, but the fizziness departs and leaves a sort of soapy note in its place. Can't say I'm overly enamored with this one.

[Veronica]

The zippy, effervescent bubbly note from the Lab's Champagne scents plus something green and herbal in the background that actually smells kind of dank on me (not the cool kind of dank, the wet bad kind).

[White Raven]

Ginger ale with a little lime and a lot of fizz. Doesn't morph much, but is a fun scent for parties or the holidays.

[fundercat55]

Oh Twenty-One, you sounded so promising and yet you just did not work for me at. all. I received it as a frimp, so no harm done, I just wish it had worked with my chemistry. Smelling like a martini sounded like a wonderfully classy and refreshing experience. Unfortunately, rather than a martini, it just smelled of juniper scented dish soap on me from start to finish. I kept waiting for it to soften or morph or just smell less dish soapy, but it never happened. Oh well. Into the "pass it on" pile this one goes.

[Soupy Twist]

Gin and tonic and mint. My eyes rolled back up in my head in ecstasy. I want to drink my wrist. I need a bottle of this yesterday.

[aquazoo]

Light & boozy. Like a cleaning fluid.

[sunlitgarden]

I just got this as a frimp from the Lab. Just from the name I thought I had tried this already, but I think I was getting it confused with Bon Vivant. I already have a bottle of Bathtub Gin, so I'm not sure if I need to keep this, but I try to at least test all the imps that come my way.

In the imp: This is fairly similar to Bathtub Gin in the imp. There's that effervescent note, juniper, and spices.

On my skin: This definitely has a boozy kick to it - but it's more like vodka than the more rum-like note I often refer to when I think a scent smells "boozy". Is this a gin or vodka martini? There are definitely gin-like spices in here.

I was kinda hoping there would be some kind of olive note in here, but if there is I don't smell it. It's like that effervescent note in the champagne scents + juniper/spices + strong alcohol.

Unfortunately, something in this has a very specific and somewhat unpleasant association to me: the room where they made the food for fruit flies when I worked in a biology lab. I don't know exactly what was in it, but it was some kind of malty substance with yeast. It's similar to a brewery type scent, but not exactly the same. And something in this scent reminds me of that room, and maybe the rubbing alcohol used to clean things in it?

Edited March 5, 2016 by sunlitgarden

[PrinceofcatS]

Yikes, I really hate this. I can't even say this smelled like something I want to drink, it has like a rubbing alcohol feel to it. I just wore Oberon recently so I recognize the juniper element, which has a "clean" element to it that i don't really care for, but not that alcohol note. It is a bit sweet and soda-y after that initial wet phase, and I really feel the Roaring Twenties vibe of it, but I personally can't stand it.

[LizziesLuck]

Beth's genius never ceases to amaze me!

 

How on earth does she make things smell fizzy? Seriously, how is that a thing?

 

I don't really drink martinis, but I love gin, so I know Beth nailed the juniper note completely, along with the fizzy tonic water. I just can't remember what vermouth smells like, but I have to assume it's this other note I am detecting in here.

 

 

Honestly, I don't know that this is wearable for me, but it's just such an amazing piece of artistry that I will likely keep the imp to smell on occasion anyway.

[CitrusFiend]

Lab fresh imp from the booze imp pack. The best way I can describe this is...*to the tune of the Two and a Half Men theme song* booze booze booze booze boozy booze booze booze, booze booze booze booze boozy booze...yeah! lol! It's another one of those "exactly what it says on the tin" scents. Gin, heavy on the juniper. I'm not a fan of how it smells on my skin, but it's got potential as an oil burner or diffuser room scent.

[spikyfairy]

An impressively accurate gin & tonic, wet and dry. Pity I hate gin & tonic (after an ill-thought-out teenage period of attempting to appear sophisticated).
Will NOT wash off and still there hours later. It smells more like a martini now. I don't like martinis either.

[kattalog]

Dry: Candle waxy (not bee wax), soapy and almost plasticy. Very aritificial. Very near skin directly at dry down.
An hours in its still very waxy, almost in a chemical way as while walking down in a store where they sell cleaning supplies.
Past two hours it morphs again, shaking off the chemical and going back to… soap.

Dominant notes: Soap and detergent.

[Coldfire]

Imp: light. bubbly. almost pale ghostly citrus
Wet on Me: still light and bubbly ghost citrus
Drying Down: morphing. still light and faintly bubbly still faint whisps of citrus and a 'wood-y' trace?
Dry: lovely light bubbly citrus-y andthe wood gives more an evergreen ghost note! I like this drink turned scent!

[Kay Torres]

I received this as a frimp from the lab.

 

In the imp and wet, I can pick up on the juniper (gin). That's the only time I smell it.

 

Dry: When I was a kid, punch was a huge deal. It don't know if it was the times my family grew up in, or the fact that they came up from the Deep, Deep South, but not having a punch bowl was a sin, and not using it at every possible opportunity was the unpardonable sin. To avoid the shame of not serving punch, my mom kept lemon/lime sherbet and ginger ale in the house at all times for the bowl. This smells like that.

[lizabelle]

Wow. Wow! This is a perfect gin scent. As usual, the lab manages a fizzy scent that actually smells fizzy. I could almost swear I smell bubbles. It has a bit of a G&T feel to me, but then I've never actually had a martini. (And I will rectify that as soon as possible. For research purposes.) I've sniffed a lot of gin scents, because I love herbal stuff and gin drinks, but I've never smelled one as true as this. It is truly perfect.